ANKARA
Banking and financial services giant Citigroup sold a 9.9 percent stake in Turkey’s Akbank for about 2.95 billion Turkish liras ($1.14 billion).
The U.S. based bank said in a statement on Wednesday that it had placed 396 million shares in Akbank owned by Citigroup with investors at 7.45 Turkish liras per share. Akbank's shares dropped 4.37 percent to 7.65 liras in Borsa Istanbul trading on Thursday after the announcement.
The transaction will result in an after-tax loss of about $243 million in the second quarter, the statement. said.
Sabanci Holding, one of the largest industrial and financial conglomerates in Turkey, and Citigroup expressed their mutual satisfaction at their partnership since 2007. Citigroup bought 20 percent of the Turkish bank in 2007 for $3.1 billion-making it the second-biggest shareholder after Sabanci Holding, then sold a 10.1 percent stake on May 2012 for about $1.15 billion to boosts its capital,
Citigroup said that it is selling its holding in Turkey's Akbank as the bank sells assets around the world to meet increased capital requirements imposed by international regulators.
Citigroup full year 2014 net income was $7.3 billion on revenue of $76.9 billion, compared with net income of $13.7 billion on revenue of $76.4 billion for the full year 2013.
